Church of the City New York

Pastor Jon Tyson discusses toxic evangelism and converting people into children of hell. He challenges listeners to bring the gospel without coercion, emphasizing Jesus drawing people to himself. The podcast explores psychological aspects of conversion, challenges of Christianity, and navigating cultural differences in the Bible.

This Sunday, guest Pastor Ralph Castillo delved Jesus' first of the seven woes to the Pharisees, that they shut the door of the Kingdom in people's faces through their hypocratic practices and selfish stewardship of the ways to connect to God. Jesus came to be the true door to the Kingdom of Heaven, and like the Pharisees, it seems the modern day church has similarly gotten in the way of people coming to Him. This woe calls us to remember God's desire to gather us to Himself, repent of our stubborness, and instead become a pleasing aroma that points people to the satisfying substance of Christ.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued our Converting the Church series by unpacking Jesus' critique of the Pharisees' performative religion and revealing how the same self-seeking spirit has crept into today's church, disappointing and disillusioning people seeking truth. Only by being secure in our identity as God's Beloved, as Jesus was, can we recognize the true greatness of a life spent poured out on behalf of others in sacrificial servanthood, and then actually live in a way that walks into a room and says "there you are," instead of "here I am."

This Sunday, Pastor Jon kicked off our new sermon series centered on Jesus' seven woes to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 called Converting the Church. This series will invite us to examine our own ways and beliefs, and create opportunities for us as individuals and a church to repent for the ways we have tried to add to God's law or avoid parts of it. Jesus began His public rebuke of the religion of His day by warning His disciples and the crowds that while the Pharisees' tradition was rooted in truth, their practices were not. The modern, evangelical church must also heed the warning of Jesus to convert religious burdens into freeing grace so that it properly reflects the live giving Good News of His Gospel.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy finished our "Seeking God" series by preaching from Ezekiel 22 about the importance of the Advocate. In the face of sin, God in His holiness must bring about justice, yet He longs to show mercy, and looks for people to repair the broken walls and stand in the breach to advocate for mankind. As believers, we are empowered by the blood and intercession of Jesus, and are called to become God's advocates by repenting for our own sins and contributions to the corruption of our generation; live righteously, disciple others, and work to rebuild society; and become people of prayer who choose to serve our city.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued our Seeking God series with a teaching on the Worshiper. Through the story of the woman at the well in the gospel of John, we find God's passion for worship, and the lengths He will go to draw worship out of the human heart. Jesus' interactions with this woman reveal the Father's determination to satisfy our deepest desires by thrilling us with Himself; telling us everything we've ever done, and still offering us His endless love and living water.

Guest pastor Corey Russell discusses the role of intercessors in seeking God and humanity's reconciliation. He emphasizes God's deep longing for justice, the emergence of intercessors as proof of His love, and Jesus as the ultimate intercessor. The podcast explores the power of intercession in addressing societal issues, connecting priesthood and kingship through Jesus, and the eternal intercession of Jesus for believers. It concludes with a prayer for intercession and revival in New York City.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued our January sermon series, "Seeking God," by examining the story of Zacchaeus and the lengths that God will go to seek to save the lost. Jesus' Great Commission at the end of Matthew's gospel commands His followers to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," establishing that the priority of Heaven is bringing the lost home, and forcing us to ask, "Is it also ours?" For the Gospel of Jesus is the only message in the world that acknowledges both the beauty of the human soul and the brokenness of it, and still says it is worth saving. The church of Christ was made to continue His mission to seek and save the lost, meeting them with the unexpected, life-altering, grace of the Gospel.

SEEKING GOD: SURRENDERED HEARTS — This Sunday, we began our January sermon series, "Seeking God." Pastor Jon pointed out that though we know God is a "seeking" God, we rarely consider who or what He is seeking. This week we saw that God is seeking surrendered hearts, wholly devoted to Him, by looking at the life of King Asa in 2 Chronicles. Asa's reign over Judah displays both whole-hearted devotion and the tragedy of half-heartedness. Pastor Jon exhorted us to resolve to diligently seek God, identify and renounce any division in our hearts (not managing idols but destroying them), and reignite our passion for seeking God. A half-hearted response is inappropriate towards a whole-hearted God who loves us and spared no expense to save us.

This Advent Season, we have been exploring Christmas through different characters in the story of Jesus' birth, and this week, Pastor Suzy took a closer look at Mary in her sermonette for Lessons & Carols. Through Mary, we see a beautiful picture of what happens when the deep longings of both a people, and an individual, are fulfilled. The core longing of each person is to be loved, and at the end of the day, the Christmas story is a love story that we are invited to recognize, respond to, participate in, and witness about to the all the world.